The Imperfect Church

The church is getting a bad rap. And I believe it’s pretty unjustified. What’s really blowing my mind is that the major negative vibe I hear, comes straight from Christians. Wha-huh? Yep. Christians. Christians can be some harsh critics of other Christians. As if “The Church” is nothing but a hypocritical “I only act like I love Jesus on Sunday, but act like a jerk every other day and don’t care” group of people and its somebody’s job to point out every glaring weakness we’ve ever had. It’s starting to bother me. No it’s starting to tick me off. I’m hearing more and more that the church isn’t doing its job right, the church isn’t full of love, the church isn’t accepting, the church doesn’t feed the poor, the church doesn’t do this, the church should be better at that…ENOUGH already.

Here’s why.

You don’t help the cause by attacking/demonizing the same group of people (the church) who you also expect to change AND do the work. Guess what. They’re broken too. They aren’t perfect. The only difference is Jesus. That’s it. If you want to change the church, BE THE CHURCH. I enjoy your fancy videos which are fun and well produced, but at the end of the day, they don’t change squat. They won’t feed a hungry person, tell someone about Jesus, cloth the poor, plant a church, or reach someone for Christ. Neither will your bumper stickers, clever Facebook status updates or platform focused insider t-shirts.

If you want to make a difference, be the difference. Start by getting on your face, praying before God to change YOUR heart, then live that change out loud. Criticizing is lazy. In my life, the more critical I am, the more bitterness I have in my heart. It’s not healthy.

There’s a difference between “A Church” and “The Church.”

A CHURCH = Any single random building with a steeple or not.
THE CHURCH = Forgiven by God group of people, now Believers who follow Jesus with their whole lives.

Jesus understood that we would never be perfect. Ever. We would never be completely righteous. Ever. And we would never be without sin. Ever. That’s why He came. He’s the difference. He’s our grace. That’s the difference. Keep in mind that The Church was HIS idea. It belongs to Him. But it’s more than a building. It’s you and it’s me. We’re all broken. We’re all in need. We’re all in this together. No need to call each other out, and then do nothing ourselves. How you change, is by joining and LEADING by example.

Can we do better? Of course we can and we will. But also consider this: What would this world look like if you instantly removed the missions, finances, support, global food distribution, medical care and church planting that “The Church” currently provides. It would be all out catastrophic. We aren’t perfect, but we are making a difference. Jesus is the savior of the world, the church is the hope.

“…and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hell will not overcome it.”
Matthew 16:18b